The Blue Hour
by quantumsentience
Summary: A story taking place after the Bay ending, only with a twist. Max decides to take matters into her own hands by going back and saving Chloe from being shot in the first place, without rewinding, thus avoiding the storm. A sweet, fluffy Pricefield tale where both of them finally get to live the happy teenage lives they deserve, with lots of fun shenanigans thrown into the mix.
1. I Keep On Telling Myself

I focused on the photograph, the same butterfly I'd seen what felt like an eternity ago, this time glistening with raindrops from the storm, Chloe's kiss still lingering on my lips. Then I felt the pull, the same pull I always felt when I rewound time, backtracking through scenes like an old movie cassette, as my vision blurred and a wicked headache started to come on.

I couldn't let Chloe die. There was no way. I had to save her, no matter how many rewinds, how many tries it took.

The school bathroom was just as I remembered it, lit up by my camera flash. Scattered all over the walls were some of Chloe's drawings, like an eerie reminder that she was everywhere. Chloe made Arcadia Bay. There was nothing here without her.

The fabric of time and space could be shredded into a million pieces for all I cared, the universe damned to hell.

_I was going to save her._

I grabbed the hammer as fast as I could, hidden under the cleaning cart, just as it had been the very first time, my knuckles turning white from holding onto it so tight.

I merely watched as Nathan came in, raving to himself, clearly unhinged. How did I never see it? I was so dumb...

But then Chloe bursted in, throwing open the door of every stall, one by one, forgetting to check behind the corner. She never checked that spot, with the cleaning cart, and the bucket, where I was hiding. I wonder if things would have been different if she had. But I couldn't take the risk to find out.

"_I hope you checked the perimeter, as my step-ass would say. Now, let's talk bidness…"_

Hearing her voice again was bittersweet. This Chloe didn't know what was going on, what would happen to her if I failed. She didn't even know I was in Arcadia yet.

As soon as the sick bastard started to threaten her, before he even had time to pull out the gun, I smashed the glass case like my life depended on it, because it did, sending shards of broken glass flying in my direction. But I didn't care. Because I was hitting the alarm as fast as I could, the loud, usually obnoxious sound blaring out like music to my ears, drowning everything out, even the noise of the heavy hammer hitting the floor.

I bolted out of my hiding spot, not caring if Nathan saw me leave. He shot me a surprised look that quickly turned into rage, but I couldn't give a shit. This could still fail, Chloe could still die in so many different ways, and I wasn't going to let that happen.

A few feet away, a distinctive head of beautiful blue hair was walking down the hallway. I caught up with her just as she was leaving through the main entrance, clearly distressed.

"Chloe!" I couldn't help myself as I ran into her arms and caught her in a tight hug, knocking the wind out of her. Her arms reached around me tentatively

"Max? What the hell are you doing here?"

I could hear a pinch of relief underneath her angry tone. At least she was still a little happy to see me.

She smelled like cigarettes and just...Chloe. The smell I had gotten so used to this past week, and she was so...alive. So unbelievably alive.

"I came back"

I managed to say, tears stinging at the back of my eyes, but this was not the time, nor the place for them.

"No shit, Sherlock. So _now_ you're all affectionate?" she huffed "That's cute after the crap you pulled"

Hearing her snarky remarks and seeing her beautiful pissed off face again made me smile. I'd been with her only minutes ago, but I had missed her so much.

I backed out of the hug, remembering that my task wasn't nearly finished.

"Listen, Chloe, we need to get to your truck. Now"

"Excuse me, _what_?" She gave me an incredulous look as she said it

Well, that didn't come out right. I hadn't had time to think of how to even explain this to her. Because 'Hey, Chloe, it's me, the friend that ditched you 5 years ago just as your life became the literal embodiment of hell, remember? Yeah so I'm back to uncover your friend's killer, and also like, save your life a couple of times. Nice being back, though' was probably going to go badly. She was expecting me to explain myself after all the time on radio silence I'd given her. I had to admit all the time skips and timelines were starting to trip me out at this point.

I decided to start slowly.

"Could you give me a ride?"

"Ditching school already? Damn, Max, what did they do to you in Seattle?"

I ignored the jab. After all, she had all the reasons to be angry at me.

Chloe and I walked towards the parking lot, and it took all ounces of self restraint to not grab her hand and rush for the truck, knowing we'd be safer away from here. That would freak her out, though, and that was the last thing I wanted to do right now. Especially before what I was about to unload onto her.

"So, was it hard to find a BFF replacement?" she said without looking at me

"Not really. I mostly kept to myself"

"Still, 5 years and no calls, no texts. You've got nerve coming back here like this"

"I know I was wrong. And I'm so, so sorry, Chloe"

My voice came out more earnest and desperate that I had hoped. Chloe didn't notice it, or simply didn't believe it.

"Bullshit. You've been back a month without contacting me. You don't give a shit about me"

She thinks that nobody does. And of course she would, after what she's been through, it's a wonder she's so put together.

"I'm truly sorry Chloe"

My answer fell flat, as she shook her head, disbelieving.

We had made our way to the back of the lot, and in front of us stood Chloe's beaten up truck, as lovely and prehistoric as I remembered it.

"This is me. Get in"

She didn't wait for me to answer as she got in the driver's seat, slamming the mismatched, rusted door of her truck behind her.

I followed her and closed the door, taking in the inside of her truck once again, with all its graffiti and Elvis bobblehead, and adorable mess.

"Nice ride" I said

"Yeah. Sure" she didn't really seem to be paying attention to me, and probably thought I was being sarcastic anyway, as she rummaged inside her jacket, presumably looking for her cigarettes. She started to get frustrated, and I couldn't stop myself before blurting my thoughts out loud.

"Left pocket."

She pulled the packet out her left pant pocket, visibly relieved before giving me a look loaded with suspicion.

"Wow, Max. You're like, a stalker, now?"

Sure. Maxine Caulfield, photographer to-be and neighborhood stalker. All things considered, she probably wasn't that far off either.

She said it as a joke, albeit a mean one, but I could tell there was real doubt behind it. Shit. This is not how this was supposed to go. If I could rewind, I sure as hell would do it now. I decided to backtrack a bit, like the common mortal would do, and simply dodge the question.

"Can you get me to the junkyard? I'm, uh,looking for parts for my camera"

I obviously had to improvise that last part but I think I did okay, all things considered.

"I'm surprised you even know of that place. But you're crazy if you think there's anything useful in that dump"

"Still, can we go?"

"Whatever. Sure" She said, begrudgingly, as she lit her cigarette and took a long drag, fumbling a bit to put the keys in the ignition, the familiar smell flooding into the truck.

"Welcome back, Max" She said with a chuckle, her voice and tone an echo of the day we first ran into each other.

The loud grumble of her old machine made me unbelievably happy, and I watched Blackwell fade away, feeling safer by the second, with the faintest hint of hope I might actually have made things right this time.

I almost had the wild, selfish thought of telling Chloe to run away with me, far from all the risk and all the shittiness in Arcadia. I knew she would never agree, especially not knowing what actually happened to Rachel.

"Blackwell, huh? Still taking pictures?" she said when were still on the road.

"You bet" I said in an attempt at a playful tone

"Why would you even come here? There's like thousands of other schools in Seattle alone"

While Seattle was big, that was definitely a bit of an overstatement, but I wasn't about to point that out to her.

"I came for Mist– " I paused, realizing how sick in the stomach it made me to call him mister. That freak didn't deserve the courtesy. "For Jefferson. He's a teacher here"

Not for long, though, I thought to myself with grim satisfaction. My voice was loaded with hatred, and Chloe seemed to notice it, but chose not to comment on it.

"Uh-huh. Okay. And the idea of maybe, you know, letting your best friend know you were coming back never crossed your mind?"

"Chloe, you know I didn't _choose_ to leave"

"Yeah, sure, but you still chose to ignore every single one of my calls. What's your excuse for that, Max?"

"I would change everything if I had the choice. Everything"

Chloe gave a dry chuckle, kind of like a bark.

"Girl, that is _so_ not how it works"

I do know, Chloe. Better than anyone else.

* * *

The mountains of scrap metal and old appliances rose up in the distance as Chloe drove. I remembered the first time we came here, when she had me gather empty beer bottles for a stupid makeshift shooting range, before we ran into Frank. Guns had brought us nothing but trouble, especially when it came to Chloe, I almost wondered if this whole disaster wasn't just the universe's sick and twisted way of telling Chloe to abide by gun control.

That shouldn't be an issue right now though.

Chloe started to slow down the truck as we reached an open space, a clearing beside the piles and piles of thrash, and sad, forgotten objects before stopping.

I took a big breath of air, still unprepared for what I was about to reveal to her. I knew the best was to get it over with right away, so that we could put those freaks behind bars before they had the chance to try and pull anything. But at the same time, knowing how Chloe had taken it in the other timeline, how hard she had cried before rushing over to Nathan with her gun...I knew all too well how badly that had ended. And I wasn't about to let that happen again, especially considering that Nathan was very much armed, and very much alive this time around.

"Home sweet home." She said, retrieving her keys from the ignition, that panda keychain dangling from them, as I saw her hand reach for the door handle.

"Wait. Chloe, stop"

She turned around to face me and gave me a puzzled, slightly irritated look before saying "Are we going or not?"

"Listen, there's, uh, something I have to tell you before" My voice came out hesitant, reluctant. Dammit Max, this is the only way, just get it together for once in your life.

"Okay, Maxo. Shoot" a twinge of concern appeared on her features, as she took her hand away from the door, and angled herself in my direction. I guess she must have noticed how serious I got all of a sudden. The use of her old nickname for me would've made me smile but I was too overwhelmed with the pressure of the task at hand.

This is it. Come on, Max, you can't be the shitty friend anymore and not tell her the truth. She needs to know. She's spent months desperately looking for Rachel and she won't stop unless she knows. You have to get it right this time.

I must have made too long a pause while I tried to pep talk myself into it, because she interrupted, seemingly impatient

"Listen, Max, if this is about you leaving, that's like...old history, okay? I'm still pissed but I'm not going to give you shit for it anymore. _Now_ can we go?"

"That's not it, Chloe." I took a big breath "I told you to come here because I know about Rachel Amber"

"How do–did you see her? Out in Seattle or somethin?"

Her tone was so desperate, and...hopeful. And it was breaking my heart.

"No, Chlo, that's not…" her face slowly fell. Way to go Max, give her hope before you go and crush it with a sledgehammer. Damn it.

"Something happened to her, Chloe. Something bad, and..." I said, the end of my sentence fading out in a whisper, bracing myself for her answer "I think I know where she is"

Shock registered all over Chloe's face. Shock, and pain and incredulity. She fumbled for words before saying

"What–no, that's not...That doesn't make any sense"

She couldn't believe it but I think a part of her did, a part of her suspected it all along.

"I heard Nathan talk on the phone, before you came in. He did it, Chloe. And Jefferson helped him"

"That loser bastard? He doesn't have the balls for that, Max. He probably made that shit up just so could brag to his lame friends. Why even say it?"

She still didn't seem convinced, like maybe she thought I was just making it up. She just couldn't figure out why I would make something like that up.

"Because it might be true"

She slipped off her beanie, before running a hand through her hair in a frustrated motion.

"Where" She said after a long pause, sounding more like an order than a question.

I led her towards the spot after we got out, and she followed silently.

I found a broken plate on one of the piles and began to dig in what was approximately the same place we had last time.

Once Chloe saw me there, kneeling down and actually digging a whole in the dirt, she made a sound like a sob, and her legs gave way as she fell, sitting down on the dirt.

Tears threatened to spill in the back of my eyes again, and I felt for her. I felt her pain and all I wanted was for it to stop.

I kept digging until I reached a patch of fabric, my vision starting to blur, the lump in the dirt that was all that remained of the girl that everyone loved. The sunny girl who disappeared.

A foul smell spread around me, and I simply sat there.

Chloe gasped before crawling towards the hole

"No, no, no, no" she repeated over and over again

Her crying turned into uncontrollable sobs, so raw and painful, her whole body started to shake.

The smell must have finally hit her too, because she scrambled away and puked on the floor.

I thought it wouldn't affect me that much the second time, but it did just the same. Seeing her cry like this was breaking my heart into a million pieces all over again. And it made me so fucking mad that I couldn't protect her from any of it.

I sat powerless on the same spot, when Chloe came back and sat beside me, trying to wipe her tears with the back of her hand, but failing as more and more fell down, replacing the others.

"Do you think…" she managed to get out in between sobs. She didn't need to finish her sentence. I simply nodded in return, having nothing else to offer her, and feeling more than terrible about it.

"Shit. Fuck. Why? Why would this...happen to her?How…" her voice was shaking, breaking, like she couldn't get the words out

I placed my arms around her and wrapped her into a hug as she hugged me back, clinging to me and crying on my shoulder, her body still shaking with shock.

She didn't deserve any of this. Even Rachel. Chloe had already seen so much shit from the universe, including from me, it was a wonder she could even handle it. Such a sweet, funny girl who never hurt anybody. Even now, her snarky, punky self was still glad to see me, still cared underneath her hard exterior, still fought so hard for Rachel. Yet the world had to fuck her over like this. Even the storm was out to get her and I just couldn't figure out _why_.

"They'll pay for what they did to you Chloe. I'll make them"

My voice sounded harsh, and cold, it almost surprised me.

* * *

Back in the car, Chloe looked over to me, her eyes red from crying.

"How?..How did he…" she said, her voice breaking

"Uh, he dosed her" I told her, not wanting to get into too many details

Chloe didn't answer, she simply looked straight into the distance, so I used the opportunity to text David, and tell him the truth.

**Unknown : **Rachel Amber was killed by Nathan with Jefferson's help. (address of warehouse) is where it happened. She's buried in the junkyard.

**Unknown : **Please lock all rooftop doors in Blackwell TODAY. Huge safety hazard

She started the car and began to pull away. Shit. I know exactly where she's going.

"Chloe, stop. I'm calling the police" I said, putting my hand on her arm

"I'm going to strangle that motherfucker with my bare hands for what he did to Rachel. I have to" She had a quiet determination as she said it.

"And then what, Chloe? You're gonna end up in jail? What good would that do?"

"I don't give a shit, Max. She's dead! Don't you get it? I have to do something"

"Chloe, listen to me, those fucking bastards are going to pay for what they did to her. Rachel...she wasn't the only victim of their sick games. I'm going to stop them."

"Yeah? And how the hell are you going to do that?"

"By calling the cops. And David. We have enough proof to get both of them in prison for life, but we have to be smart" I said

Chloe seemed furious, like she still wanted to rush over to wherever they were, probably the school, and kill them right there. And they deserved it. Especially Jefferson. But she knew it wasn't the right thing to do.

"We can't afford to ruin this. I don't know Rachel but, there's no way she'd want you to throw your life away for her. We can get them to justice, Chloe, you have to trust me"

"Fuck!" She screamed as she banged her hands on the steering wheel, producing an off key klaxon sound from her truck.

But she took the keys out and didn't start the car.

* * *

Chloe started the truck and started to drive again once the patrol cars had finally showed up. We made our way in silence.

"You coming over? I...could use the company"

"Of course, Chlo"

"Nice" she gave me the tiniest of smiles, her voice hoarse after crying

The truck pulled over in front of her house and we got in.

"It's uh, been a while since you last came"

I could tell she was trying to be strong for my sake, but she was struggling.

"Feels like it was just yesterday. Hasn't changed a bit" I said, caressing the familiar length of the staircase I'd gone up so many times, feeling the aged wood.

"Thanks"

She smiled and this time, it didn't seem so forced, or so miserable, she simply looked tired.

She closed her bedroom door behind me and went to lie on the bed on her side, wrapping her arms around her knees in a fetal position.

I had to go over and lie next to her, hugging her from behind as I heard her crying resume. I brushed her hair away from her face with my free hand.

"You should've met her. She would have loved you. She was just this...amazing person"

"She would have to be, to have you as her friend"

"She...saved me, you know? She was like this angel"

I could hear the faintest of smiles in her voice, as she probably remembered the moments they had together.

A stupid, selfish part of me was screaming it should have been me. It should have been me who was with Chloe when she was going through so much. It should have been me who stuck with her through thick and thin, as we both grew up as angsty teenagers together and shared every experience. Maybe this wouldn't even have happened to Rachel if I hadn't left.

"Tell me about her"

Chloe turned around to face me, and her voice shook slightly when she said

"We were going to run away from this shithole, you know? Just the two of us"

I simply nodded and let her go on

"Everyone thought she ran away, but I knew there was no way she'd just leave me. I knew...that something had happened to her"

"I just...I can't believe she's truly gone, Max" she said, the tears she'd been holding back finally spilling

"I know, Chloe" my voice was soothing

"Shit" she said angrily, upset to be crying again

I wiped her cheeks with my sleeve, and she gave a dry chuckle devoid of any energy.

"And in this whole mess, you...come back to me, after all these years, and you find her like some dark superhero. That's got to be fate, right?"

I smiled at her, and it was bittersweet.

"Sorry I freaked out at you in the truck, and earlier. Things have just been...majorly fucked up these past few years"

"Chloe Price, what are you even apologizing for? You've been through so much shit, so much more than anyone could ever handle, and you didn't deserve me leaving you on top of it. You sure as hell didn't deserve _any_ of this."

I gave a dry chuckle myself, placing my hand on top of hers, and giving it a little squeeze before adding "I guess you're still the same Chloe I've always known and loved"

"Because you weren't sure before? I guess with all the tattoos and cool hair it's easy to get confused" she said as she squeezed my hand back, before adding with a tiny smile "Glad to know you haven't changed either, Captain Max"

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you so much for reading!

I'm a bit late but Pricefield is literally my OTP and playing LiS a few weeks ago (both endings of it!) left me a broken shell of a human being, so I decided I had to make a happy, fluffy fic to cure my broken heart. Rated M for good measure but might change it to T in the future.

I know things aren't looking particularly cheerful at the moment, but I promise they will in the following chapters. Will be posting soon(ish)

Like with my RosexLissa fic, the chapter titles will be based on songs that relate to the content, because it's fun and I'm extra like that, so definitely check them out if you're on the hunt for some new music. This one is by Dave Thomas Junior.


	2. To All of You

A soft feathery touch on my forehead woke me up, like someone was brushing my bangs away from my face, and I opened my eyes to see Chloe hovering over me, wearing a worried expression.

"Crap. Sorry. Dude, you got this crazy cut on your head…"

I touched my forehead and my hand came back slightly bloody, the cut already beginning to close. Must've been when I broke the glass so hard. Totally worth it, though.

Now, how the hell am I going to explain this to Chloe without telling her the truth?

"I, uh...fell the other day"

I mentally smacked myself. Really, Max? That's the best you could come up with? It's like the worst lie ever.

Chloe gave me that "come on, now" look she always gave me when I got caught in a lie, so presumably she agreed with me on that one. She always did say I was a horrible liar.

"Did some asshole hurt you?"

Her voice was fierce, and protective now, her piercing blue eyes fixed on mine, as she waited for my answer. Chloe looked ready to beat the shit out of anyone who'd dared to hurt me, making me feel sorry for the person who'd be dumb enough to cross her. Though in this case, it was just me.

"No...it's so stupid. I fell and broke a glass, okay?" I said, making a face

While that wasn't exactly the truth, it was close enough, and I figured it would do.

"Damn...you _really_ haven't changed, huh? Still as clumsy as ever" she gave a soft chuckle, as she pushed away my bangs again to examine the wound a bit closer.

"It's not funny, you know" I couldn't help but give my voice that whiny tone that little kids have when you make fun of them

"It is, though" she laughed again, and it was good naturedly. That sound was so precious to me, so sweet. It wasn't often that Chloe truly laughed, not in that sarcastic bark she usually had, but the soft, cheerful tone from when we were kids.

"Now, don't pout. You know that's like, my weakness, right?" she poked me in the ribs and I found myself smiling again

"I always did know how to make you crack"

"Still as sassy as ever, I see." Chloe said before heading to the bathroom "Now let me get a bandage for that gaping wound before you like, bleed out"

So all the time traveller stuff was going to remain secret for sure. I only had to make sure that Chloe was safe and sound, that Kate stayed far away from the roofs of Blackwell, that the psycho twins got locked up, and that we survived past Friday without a tornado swooping in and wiping Arcadia off the map. No biggie, right? Especially considering I already accomplished all of that in a different life. Well, _almost_ all of it.

I almost didn't want to get too comfortable, too happy about being with Chloe, because I knew it could still be ripped away from my fingers in an instant. But it was still just so damn nice to wake up in her bed, the same room I'd spent so many years in, the one I became so used to this past week. And the one place I never wanted to leave.

"Got the elixir" She said as she appeared in the doorway, holding the medical kit up for me to see, before closing the door with her foot.

Her making a geeky joke showed she was still in a pretty good mood, considering everything.

"Heal me, o' shaman" I said, extending my arms towards her

"Shut up, you dork" she shoved my arms away, laughing, as she sat cross legged next to me on her unmade bed.

"Banged yourself up pretty good, huh?" Chloe said as she examined the cut again. I helped her out by holding my bangs away from my face.

"Am I going to be okay, Dr. Price?" I said in a mock-worried voice

She rolled her eyes

"Damn, girl. You're really killing it with the jokes today"

I just flashed her a broad smile

"Now, this might sting a bit…" She said it sort of jokingly but I could tell she meant it. Huh. I guess the cut looked a bit worse than it felt.

"No worries, doc."

My bravado was quickly shut down as she dabbed the antiseptic soaked cotton pad on the gash, making me wince. It _did_ sting. And my eyes were starting to water.

"Shit. It _does _hurt"

"What did I tell you?" she said, before pausing "Honestly, a little further and you might've needed stitches. That's some hardcore shit, Max"

I knew she was exaggerating because it didn't even hurt _that_ bad, but she seemed a bit worried as she said it, and it sorta warmed my heart a little.

She slowly put a small bandaid on my forehead before brushing my bangs back into place. Why did she have to be so sweet with me? Honestly, I didn't deserve any of it.

"Thanks, Chlo"

She simply smiled at me before throwing herself on the bed with a sigh. She grabbed her pack of cigarettes and lit one up before taking a long drag, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"Slept well? Joyce's making breakfast downstairs"

Chloe tapped her cigarette on the edge of the ashtray before taking another drag.

Truth was, I'd slept amazingly. Better than I'd slept in years. Though I guess it wasn't that hard since I had Chloe sleeping peacefully next to me.

"Awesome. Her cooking's the best" I said

It had only been a couple of days and I already missed her waffles. Like, really, missed them.

"Do we have plans for today?" I asked her and Chloe just shrugged, as she continued smoking

I guess we were both avoiding the elephant in the room, the events of yesterday and the others to come. Though who could blame us?

* * *

When we got to the stairs, the delicious smell of Joyce's homemade breakfast flowed from the kitchen.

"There you are" she said when she saw us on the hallway

Chloe's mom seemed glad to see me, relieved almost, as she fried bacon for Chloe, her hair put up in her signature hairdo, wearing casual clothes. Oh yeah..it was almost noon, after all, Chloe and I had kind of slept in, so she must've stayed home from work. Probably because she heard what happened to Rachel.

"Good morning, Joyce. Sorry for barging in like that yesterday" I said

"You know you're always welcome, Max. We've really missed you these past few years. Especially Chloe" she said and Chloe shot her an angry look, which made my heart flutter just a little bit

"I'm really happy to be back." I said with a small chuckle "Can I help?"

I hadn't seen Joyce since the post-apocalyptic diner situation, and was glad to find her here, safe and sound, oblivious to her counterpart's, and the whole alternate town's fate.

"No, just sit, it's already done. You still like my pancakes, right?" she said, putting an enticing plate on the table in front of me "Here. Dig in"

The pancakes were stacked on top of each other, with steam rising from the top, and they were covered in a thick layer of droopy, delicious syrup. Just the way I liked them. It was so nice to see Joyce still remembered that, after all this time.

"Thank you, Joyce, I've really missed them" I said, sitting on the chair across from Chloe, who had her arms crossed, her whole posture wordlessly saying 'I'm too cool for this'. But I noticed her leg was bouncing restlessly under the table.

Joyce put Chloe's bacon on a plate before bringing it to her and going back into the kitchen, and Chloe dug in instantly.

"I thought you would have. You ate more than William, and he loved them…" Joyce said, her voice trailing off at the thought of Chloe's dad.

"I remember. We would race each other to take them from the stack" I told her, attempting a light hearted tone. It was even worse since I had tried to save him...and failed. And even that wasn't entirely true.

Chloe scoffed, but kept eating, pretending not to hear us. She was probably upset to hear us talking about her dad.

"They're delicious, thanks Joyce" I said, in an attempt to change the subject, after taking the first bite of the pancakes, which were as fluffy and delicious as I remembered them

"Don't mention it" she said with one of her smiles, pouring coffee into a mug

Chloe and I continued to eat in silence, and the pancakes were so good they almost brought tears to my eyes. I guess there was something about sitting in the kitchen with the two of them, Chloe and I still in our pajamas, which I'd borrowed from her, having a comfy, lazy morning...

"So do you have any plans for today? Aside from skipping school, that is" Joyce said to me in a slightly reproachful voice, while she sat next to Chloe, a mug in hand, but I could tell she was going to let it slide for today

"Not really. Chloe?" I asked her

"We could hang out at the lighthouse, if you want" she said in between bites, with a shrug

"Sure"

The mention of that spot made my heart stupidly skip a beat, as I remembered what we did the last time we went there. It was even dumber considering that hadn't happened with this Chloe. Getting embarrassed at remembering things that didn't even happen in this timeline, gosh...How deep in was I?

"After all these years and everything that's happened, it's great to see you and Chloe together again" she said to me in a serious tone

"You guys are lame" Chloe said with a chuckle, taking the last bite of her plate before heading upstairs, without another word. I couldn't help wondering if she was going upstairs to 'medicate' here, too.

"I heard about Rachel from David" Chloe's mom said once she was gone "He said you were the ones who found her?"

"I'm so sorry, Joyce"

"No, you did well. Now her family will finally have some closure because of you"

"Yeah, but Chloe...she was so sad yesterday, it was horrible"

The sound of Chloe's painful, desperate sobs was haunting to say the least.

It's like Chloe was born to be laughing in her devil-may-care way, always up to no good, and seeing her cry was just...wrong. It was the absolute worst thing in the entire world.

"She'll get through it. It will take some time and it'll be hard, but she'll make it. Trust me" Her voice took a darker tone when she said that last part, and I knew that was something she had had to learn the hard way.

* * *

Upstairs, Chloe was laying on her bed, indeed in the midst of a 'wake and bake' sesh, looking pretty out of it, the familiar smell filling the room. I looked for my phone, only to find I had gotten quite a few messages. One of them from Kate.

**Kate: **Hey Max u around?

**Max: **Always. I was just thinking about you

**Max :** Want to get tea later? I'm free after 4 ^ - ^)/

**Kate : **Are you a mind reader Max ? So glad you want to hang out with me :)

After answering, I saw another name on the screen.

Oh right, Warren. He still hadn't gotten his flash drive back in this reality. He'd really helped Chloe and me out last time with all his geeky science knowledge. I kinda wished I could ask him about the tornado and the chances it still might hit, but there was no use in telling him about all that stuff...I guess if things truly got crazy and I had to consider using the butterfly photo to try again, I'd ask him what he thinks, and even tell Chloe the truth, while I'm at it.

**Warren : **wOw Max, did you hear what happened to the missing girl?

**Warren : **Did you change your last name to Scofield or are you feeling sick today?

**Warren : **Oh wait. You're Max Caulfield, and he's Scofield, get it? Man I should have made that joke

**Warren : **I wonder how hard it would be to hack into your phone to erase a few texts

**Warren :** Also please show signs of life. Telegram, smoke signals, anything will do

I chuckled a bit at his general clumsiness before answering.

**Max : **I heard. I'm just glad the culprits will be punished for what they did

**Max : **I'm alive. Sigh. Feeling rebellious today though

**Max : **Nice Prison Break reference. Funny coming from someone who can't get enough of their science class

**Max : **Also I know you're pretty tech-savvy but that's kind of a stretch. Though if you were to ask Brooke for help...

I also had two texts from David. Now that was an unusual sight.

**David : **Who is this?

**David : **I still don't know who sent this but Rachel's remains have been uncovered at the site. Police have arrested both suspects for questioning, but I can confirm they believe they have enough evidence to incarcerate both of them. I can only thank you for the valuable information. All doors leading to the rooftop have been now locked, it was an oversight from me

"Who you textin', hippie?" Chloe said to me. She'd put out her joint, and was staring at me from across the room.

"Oh just Warren, he's a friend from Blackwell. You should meet him. Also, Kate, she's in my photography class" I said after locking my phone

"Huh. Cool" she answered in a pretty disinterested tone

I went to put my phone back into my satchel, but as I opened it one of my photographs slipped out. Chloe picked it up to look at it. And it was the butterfly one.

"What, no way... When did you take this?"

_Oh shit_...I guess here we go again.

"In the bathroom today, you set off the alarm! That's why you came running to me so fast..." she continued

"You were there...but why would you do that? I had that prick right where I wanted him, too. Should've killed him when I had the chance" I definitely didn't like the dark tone her voice took at the end. Yet I couldn't blame her in the slightest.

"Chloe he...had a gun. And he was totally ready to use it, too." I told her

"A gun? Holy shit, Max..." she paused "Then you hella saved my life! I mean, I'm pretty badass but even _I_ don't think I coulda…" Chloe let her sentence trail off, and there was no need to finish it. I had already seen the result of that, too many times to count, the image stuck in my brain forever, fueling my absolute worst nightmares.

I never had a particular opinion on guns before, but it occurred to me that after all of last week's events, I just wished I could just obliterate all of them from the planet. Which would be my first decree if I ever became president. Just, banning all firearms, at least in the US...How nice would that be?

"I just did it without thinking, honest. I was hiding in the corner when he came in, talking to himself...He's got serious problems, you know"

"I knew that asshole was deranged the second I saw him. I can't believe...what he did"

A silence reigned between us as Chloe's expression darkened.

"So, did you recognize me right away?"

Answering her questions was harder than I'd thought. Did I? I rewound specifically for this, for her, but not in the other timeline, I didn't. It was all starting to get pretty confusing.

"How could I not recognize my best friend?" I ended up replying sweetly

"Oh, shut up, kiss-ass." Chloe said, rolling her eyes

* * *

We were in the truck again, and the afternoon light was shining through the windows, the sky just the perfect mix between cloudy and clear, as sunbeams shone through each cloud. The smoke from Chloe's cigarettes was floating around, making shapes and spirals on the roof. The radio was on, and some soft, folksy music like the kind I liked was flowing smoothly through the speakers. Chloe hadn't even groaned about it or changed the station to something heavier. It was so weird, this peace.

She had one elbow rested on the open windowsill, relaxed, her hand reaching out sometimes to feel the wind on her palm, when she wasn't pulling out her cigarette to blow a new wave of smoke, the other hand wrapped loosely around the wheel. She had removed her signature beanie, which laid discarded on the dashboard, so strands of her neon blue hair were flowing in the wind. She looked like the perfect picture of freedom, a thoughtful expression on her face, and at once my hands were itching for my camera to capture the moment.

I saw the sea starting to peak through the trees and felt a confusing mix of emotions. I couldn't believe we were here, together. And I had no idea how long it would last. I remembered I still had the photograph, the only one left, securely tucked inside my bag, as a contingency plan should things go awry. But I so, so wished they didn't. So far everything was going so well...

Finally we reached the lighthouse, which was a few miles ahead, up the dirt road.

"Welcome to the only cool place left in Arcadia" Chloe said, gesturing towards the lighthouse, and the cliff with the bench.

The same place where we had said our goodbyes. Where she had done the most selfless, most loving thing anyone could do. And where we had kissed one last time.

It still hurt so much to think about.

When she suggested it, encouraged me, even, there was a brief second where I wondered if I should. Deep down, I knew it was the right thing to do, but then I realized I would rather die than to leave Chloe again. Fuck that martyrdom shit.

"You're quiet, Max. Thinkin' of someone?" Chloe said, raising and eyebrow, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Hah, yeah, right. I just...it's been such a crazy week" I stopped myself, catching the mistake in time before adding "And it only just started, too"

Her expression changed as soon as I said that, turning serious, which was uncommon for her.

"I seriously owe you, Max. For yesterday and, for Rachel, too."

If only Chloe knew how much _I_ owed her. I couldn't even begin to describe the things I'd put her through.

"It's more like I'm the one who owes _you. _Seriously, you're like this mafia boss and I owe you like 20 years of service, Chloe" I said, in an attempt to lighten the mood

"I guess I could picture myself as a mafia boss. Damn, that would be cool. I could be called Al Priceno" Chloe sounded excited as she said it. I loved how I could blurt out the silliest of things, and she would follow my train of thought without telling me how stupid it was. Even now, after all this time.

I guess that's how our relationship worked, me always fantasizing about some random thing, and Chloe coming up with wacky new ideas of things for us to do. And me following her without a second thought in whatever she came up with that day.

"More like The Godmother. I would watch the hell out of that movie"

"And you'd be like my right hand" Chloe said, before pausing to think "Oh, I know! how does 'Max the Enforcer' sound?"

"Awful. But I'll take it, anyway" I said with a chuckle, glad to see Chloe joking around again.

My phone buzzed in my pocket with more messages, and I stopped to answer them, pretending not to see the annoyed look Chloe shot me.

**Kate : **I'll see you in half and hour :D

**Max : **I'm on my way ;) can't wait to hang out

Science boy had apparently also answered me :

**Warren: **Sorry, in class. Theres a rumor the police are questioning your teacher and a guy from your class. Kinda crazy tbh. You heard anything?

**Max :** Not really. Skipping class, remember? I'm hanging out with an old friend.

**Warren : **btw can you bring my USB? If you're not too busy rekindling old flames, that is

**Max: **Am not. I'm meeting with Kate at the coffee house, I'll stop by the dorm.

**Warren:** Cool. Ill meet you at the lot. Looking cool. You'll see

"That your boyfriend again?" she said, catching me by surprise, her glare apparent now.

"Boyfriend? Ew, no way"

"Damn, friendzone sucks" she scoffed "Bet he's totally in love with you"

I made a face.

"I'm trying to hook him up with this girl, Brooke. They'd be awesome together"

It was so weird to see two people who were so alike, so into the same things. The resemblance was almost uncanny. Though I guess that by itself wasn't enough, judging from how clueless Warren was to the humongous crush she had on him.

"Yikes, Max, cruel much? Though I guess there's no point leading him on"

Was I going insane or did she seem slightly...relieved?

"Yeah. I do have to go, though, I promised Kate we'd meet up"

"Yeah, fine, Max, just ditch your best friend to meet with one of your new, cool friends, that's fine"

She said it as a joke, but I could tell there was a bit of spite behind it. I guess she did that a lot, covering pain and insecurities with humour. Though I wasn't any better.

To be honest, I just wanted to stay here with her. The view of the sunset, the light glittering on the surface of the water, was amazing, and a light breeze was flowing towards us on the bench. The location could definitely be described as versatile, I'll give it that. One second peaceful and dreamy, and the other...

"Listen, this might be asking too much, but could you, like, pick me up after?" I asked her, deciding I really couldn't do without an extra dose of Chloe today, all things considered

"Chloe Price, local punk and childhood friend. And oh, yeah, let's add taxi driver to the list, huh?"

Her referring to herself as a 'local punk' was hilarious. So I guess she is pretty self-aware after all.

"Come on" I said, a hint of laughter in my voice "Besides, I was hoping I could stay over tonight, too?"

"Damn, girl. You're back and you just cannot get enough of me, huh? Guess that _is _the effect I have on people"

If only she knew how right she was...Chloe really had no idea of the effect she had. Especially on me.

"Yeah, it's like a natural reaction to the Chloe-ness. You just can't help it" I told her

"Okay, okay. Enough with the flattery. Just go meet your friends" she said, making a shoo-ing motion towards me with the hand that was holding the cigarette, creating ripples in the smoke.

"You should meet them soon, though. I'm serious"

Warren especially was probably not going to be her biggest fan, but I'm sure Chloe would deal.

"Sure, Max. I'll meet your friends" she said with an eye roll, before pulling the cigarette towards her mouth and inhaling, as she looked away towards the water in front of her, clearly dismissing me.

"Uh, Chloe? I was actually kind of counting on like...a ride there?" I said, tentatively, relishing in the irony of the situation "Cause, we're still, like, in the middle of nowhere"

"Oh. Yeah. Right" She said, grabbing her keys a little clumsily. She was so cute when she got embarrassed like that.

"Hah, I guess I really might have to hire you as my personal chauffeur" I really could get used to the idea of Chloe picking me up and driving me everywhere. I could even get her a little cap.

"Well, after what you did yesterday, I wouldn't say no, either." Chloe gave a shrug before continuing "Actually, if you could like, keep saving my life with your badassery, that'd be like, hella cool?"

While she was joking, it was ironic how true it really was.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading!

A bit of a fluffier chapter, which is definitely the direction I want this fic of mine to go in. I'm debating on whether or not to include this kind of dramatic, heavier scene I had written for chapter 3 or just skip it and keep things light-hearted...

I personally love Chloe and Max's dynamic in the game, their flirty banter (especially from Chloe's part) and, in certain more dramatic moments, their more sweet and caring way of talking to each other. They're like a married couple, to be honest lol

This song is obviously from the marvelous soundtrack, and it's actually the one that is coming through the speakers when they drive to the lighthouse (in the fic, not in the game).

There's also a continuity error when it comes to the whole David thing, but I'll go back to the first chapter and fix that later.

Also if anyone is coming here from my LissaxRose fic, and is waiting for the much anticipated (not really lol) next chapter, I promise I'll be back with it soon, I just have to get a few details sorted out.

More to come...


	3. Crosses

Things definitely looked a little tense when I got to the school.

I was walking through the front, after Chloe dropped me off and drove off in her truck, and people were hanging outside, talking amongst themselves, probably gossiping about what was going on. As far as I could tell, the info about Rachel still hadn't leaked, and they only knew there was an investigation going on that involved a student and a teacher. Honestly, considering Nathan's reputation, it probably didn't come off as much of a surprise that he'd be in trouble with the police, but more that it was serious enough for him to get caught, for his family's influence to not be able to protect him.

I saw Alyssa sitting by herself on a bench, busy writing something on her phone. There were no footballs or other projectiles in sight ready to hurl themselves in her direction this time, though.

"Hey. What's going on?"

"That asshole Nathan finally got caught. Not sure for what, though. Photo teacher's not here today and everyone's convinced he got some girl pregnant or something. Sounds like bullshit though."

That was so disturbing...especially considering what he did to Rachel. Sounded like nobody had figured it out yet, though.

"Oh, I see, thanks" I told her

"You chose a weird day to ditch class. Max, was it?"

"Yeah, you're Alyssa, right?"

"Yup. Didn't think you'd remember" she said, genuinely surprised

I simply smiled at her. I guess I had never really talked to her in this timeline, either. She was a really nice girl, too. I used to be way too shy before my life became a sci-fi movie plot.

I passed Victoria and her posse on my way to the dorm. She seemed visibly upset, her resting bitch face more prominent than normal, presumably because of the rumours about Jefferson. No paintball games for Victoria this time, though.

I passed by Kate's room on the way, and she wasn't there, probably already on her near the café. I paused to erase the ugly message someone had written on her board, replacing it with a heart drawing.

It didn't feel right to snoop in Victoria's room, but she was still up to no good, spreading stupid rumors and messing with people's lifes, even in this reality. I still couldn't help but feel a bit bad for her after getting to know her last week, and seeing what Jefferson did to her, but she needed to be stopped.

I used her printer for the email that incriminated her and brought it straight to Dana's, avoiding the drama.

Juliet was in the hall, busy watching Kate's video. And her room door was open, so she had presumably let Dana out after a while yesterday, even without my intervention. But I bet she still thought that Dana did it.

"Listen, Juliet, Dana didn't send those texts. Victoria did" I said, passing her the page

"I know you're friends with that biatch but don't bother defending her. She did this" Juliet said, not bothering to look at it

"I'm serious. Victoria and your boyfriend were playing some weird prank on you, I swear. Just read this"

Finally curiosity got the best of her, and she took the paper from my hands and read it impatiently, getting angrier by the second.

"Oh my god, that skank! And I treated Dana like crap...I have to call her" she said, grabbing her phone and dialing her number

"Hi, Dana? I'm so so sorry about yesterday. I'm a total asshole." I heard her say as I went into their room.

I went in and retrieved the USB from Dana's desk before heading outside again.

"I owe you dinner." Juliet said, still on the phone "Still love you though!"

I closed the door and Juliet hung up before looking at me.

"Thank you so much, Max. You're like the Blackwell ninja. Now let's see what Zach has to say about that…" she said before starting to head towards the exit, clearly with a mission

"Glad you guys made up. Wait, Juliet? Listen, could you not watch or share Kate's video anymore? It's seriously messed up. Plus, Victoria's the one who posted it, you know" I said to her

Juliet made a face "I guess you're right, Max. Sorry. I won't watch it anymore"

* * *

At the front of the school, Brooke was busy flying her drone, so I approached her

"Hi, Brooke"

"Let me guess...You want to fly my drone" she said, with the same attitude as always. Though I knew it was probably because she was jealous of me.

"Oh, that's a B400, right?" I remembered "Great for aerial photography."

"Most impressive, Max. Warren said you were multi-faceted." she said, looking reluctantly impressed "Want to give it a whirl?"

"No, thanks. But listen, there's Planet of the Apes playing at the drive-in, and I know for a fact Warren's dying to go. You should invite him"

"You're full of surprises...But why would you tell me that?" she said, a look of suspicion on her face

"I just think you guys are perfect for each other." I said, but she didn't seem convinced, so I added "Plus, I've already got someone. Warren's a catch though"

"Okay, then. I guess I can give it a try" she said before reluctantly adding "Thanks"

* * *

Once at the lot, Warren was there, waiting in front of his new car

"What up, Max? How are you?" he said excitedly, attempting a hug

"Here's your flash. Thanks" I said avoiding it as gracefully as I could, which probably wasn't very good, because he instantly looked uncomfortable, scratching at the back of his head

"Check out my new wheels..." he gestured towards his car, once he'd recovered a little

"Cool. Very old school"

I was starting to get a bit tired of reliving the same days over and over, but Warren was a really nice guy. Plus, for Chloe, it was absolutely worth it.

"1978 to be exact...Now we can go to the drive-in" he said, his voice hopeful

"About that...I was talking to Brooke and she said she was dying to watch a sci-fi classic again"

"Oh...you mean we go as like...a group?" his disappointment was plain and obvious, and I felt sorry for him. But I remembered he invited Brooke to the party in the other timeline, so that meant he was at least considering her. So there was still hope for them.

"Maybe?" I said, vaguely but ended up adding, changing the subject "Hey, so do you know a lot about time travel?"

He still looked upset, probably seeing where I had been going, but he answered "Oh, I know that shit. I can like, make a list of other movies and books if you want"

"That would be awesome, thanks. I knew Dr. Graham would deliver" I said, nudging him with my elbow, in an attempt to lighten the mood

"No need to make an appointment for you, Max" he said with a mellow smile

"You rock, Warren. Okay, I gotta go meet Kate now. See you around" I said, waving at him before heading to the coffee house.

* * *

Kate was sitting alone when I got there. She had chosen the booth at the back of the coffee house, and a cup of tea was in front of her, next to a plate of cookies, left untouched.

"Katie! Sorry for the wait. Did you get here a long time ago?" I said to her, checking the time on my phone

"No, I was here early...Thanks for meeting with me. Want a cookie? They're chip choc" her voice seemed weak, like she was trying to appear okay but was just, exhausted.

I sat next to her on the booth, grabbing a cookie

"Mmmh...They're really good. Have one too!"

She seemed surprised I was in such a good mood, and took a cookie and nibbled on it tentatively.

"I'm so glad we're finally hanging out." I told her

"Oh...I guess." she said, and she still seemed sad

"Guess what? I busted that biatch Victoria today. She's gonna be in a lot of trouble from Juliet"

That elicited a small chuckle from her, and I was glad.

"What did you do?"

"I just snooped around her room and found evidence of her evil deeds. She played a horrible prank on Juliet with her boyfriend'

"Oh...I guess I'm not surprised. But you're really cool, Max" she said, giving a little smile

"You too, Kate. I heard your playing the other time, and it was amazing. You're super talented"

"It's been a while since I last played"

Kate was starting to get tearful. After the embarrassment Nathan and Victoria and the whole school put her through...She'd even attempted to take her own life in the other timeline. I'm so glad David actually locked the rooftop door this time.

"Listen, Kate. I know about the video, and it's horrible. Nathan's being interrogated for the things he did. You weren't the only victim to his sick games"

"What?" surprise was written plainly on her face

"I know some people who were also hurt by him. And, people don't really know about it yet, but Nathan, he killed the uh, missing girl"

Kate instantly brought a hand to her neck, in a nervous gesture, and started to twirl her cross necklace around, probably unconsciously, as she processed what I told her.

"He...He killed somebody?" I felt her horror grow as she thought of what could have happened to her

"He's seriously messed up. Like, really. He'll go to prison for it, too" I said

"But...How do you know about all this, Max?"

"Me and Chloe, she's a friend, we found her uh, her remains yesterday"

My voice trembled slightly when I recalled what happened yesterday. And also what could have happened.

"Oh God...That's, that's horrible" Her face welled up with tears, and it occurred to me what a sweet, sensitive and caring person she was. She didn't deserve any of the pain and humiliation that Nathan and Victoria put her through.

None of them did.

* * *

**Chloe : **u done hippie

**Chloe : **last stop on the chloe train

**Max: **Yeah, we're done. I have a ticket ^-^)

**Chloe : **NO EMOJI!

**Chloe: **20min be there or no deal

**Max: **Yes ma'am :'(

I was standing in front of the deserted school, and it was beginning to get dark, as I waited for Chloe to come pick me up. Kate and I had talked for a couple of hours, moving onto lighter subjects, before I walked her to the dorm. Already I could see her mood improving now that she knew the truth about Nathan and his crimes, and I was so, so glad to see it.

Chloe's battered, adorable truck showed up, brakes screeching.

"Hop in, girl" she said, looking over the window

I smiled and opened the passenger door, and she started up the car again and headed to her house.

"Thanks for picking me up, Chlo"

"At your service, master" she said, giving me a two finger salute, which made me laugh

"So how crushed by rejection was that guy?" she said after a while

"Oh, Warren? A little, I guess. I'm trying to wingwoman Brooke and him, and it's going okay so far"

"No one's good enough for you, Max" she said with a chuckle "Except for me, of course"

If only you knew how true that was, Chloe...

"So how's the battle wound going?" she asked when we were at a stoplight

"A lot better. All thanks to your A+ medical attention"

"Cool. You think I should become a doctor?"

"What are you talking about, Dr. Price? I thought you already had a degree in medicine…" I said innocently

"Hah. Must've slipped my mind. You should be my nurse and wear a hot outfit. I can _definitely_ picture that" Chloe raised an eyebrow

Geez, Chloe really needed to stop it with the teasing in this dimension, because one of this days, I really might start flirting back. Or not, I don't know.

Chloe reached over to lift my bangs away from my forehead to look at the cut, her sudden closeness startling me a little.

"You're gonna end up with a cool scar, Maxo." she said, before turning away on her seat, and starting the car again

"Oh, please, it was just a scratch"

"Look at her being all hardcore and warrior-like" she scoffed, but there was a certain pride in her voice

* * *

Joyce woke us up early the next day, and we got ready in silence.

_It was Rachel's funeral today._

I borrowed some black clothes from Chloe, and she wore her usual outfit. When we went down the stairs, Joyce was waiting for us, and we all left without a word.

It looked like all of Arcadia was gathered at the cemetery, grieving for Rachel's death. Her parents were next to her casket, crying. On it a silver cross gleamed in the sunlight, in stark contrast with the black wood. The image was haunting yet eerily beautiful, I briefly fantasised about pulling out my camera and snapping a shot, but I knew it would be wildly inappropriate.

"Where the fuck were all these people when she went missing?" Chloe said under her breath, seemingly noticing the same thing I had.

She had put posters all over Blackwell and all over town all by herself, and nobody had taken her seriously, believing Rachel had simply run away, probably because of her party girl reputation. It was almost rude to see them all congregating here crying for a girl they didn't really give a shit about.

I guess no matter how popular and well loved Rachel was when she was alive, her only true friend, the only one who had never abandoned her was Chloe.

The memorial started, and people went to the podium, one by one, to sing Rachel's praises. She was such a sweet girl, she was so pretty, she was so nice...Different versions of the same thing were said over and over again. And I could see Chloe getting angrier by the second, the hand that was holding Rachel's funeral program turned into a fist, crumpling it.

I placed my hand over hers, and looked into her eyes, trying to wordlessly let her know that I understood, that I cared. She released the grip on the pamphlet and gave me a small nod, her expression softening only a little.

When the time came, Chloe went up to the podium, and I felt a collective intake of breath amongst the crowd. She definitely had a reputation in town, and was known for being a bit wild and rebellious. The fact that she had chosen to dress up in her full punk gear instead of the traditional mourning attire everyone was wearing probably didn't help, either. But when I saw her up there, looking so sad and vulnerable, I was overcome with an immense need to protect her, to shield her from all the bad things that happened around her.

"Rachel would've hated this stupid thing" she started, which got an immediate reaction from the crowd. What a bunch of posers. The only one who really had a right to speak here was her.

"She was, well, she was fucking amazing. But y'all already said that, didn't you? I guess everyone does love you when you're dead." she paused, and that last sentence left all the mourners collectively open-mouthed, including me. Only Chloe would have the guts to say something like that in front of all this people, as true as it was.

"She wasn't just a hot girl, she was...she had the most pure and beautiful soul I've ever seen…" she trailed off

"And a fucking bastard, a_ little shit_ who has no idea what life is even about, came in, and he took her from me. And he deserves to die for what he did" her voice was raising to a shout by the end of her sentence, and the crowd was going insane with complaints and whispered remarks amongst themselves. So Shakespeare was right, hell really i_s_ empty.

"Shit" she said, moving away from the mic. She had held up so well during the service, and even during her amazing speech, but now she had finally cracked, and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Chloe stormed away from the service, after having successfully wreaked havoc amongst the crowd and I rushed to follow her.

She was sitting on the grass amongst the tombstones at the back of the cemetery, in a true punk fashion, her back propped against an old gnarly tree, smoking a cigarette with shaky hands, her face covered in tears that she kept frustratingly trying to wipe away with the back of her hand.

"If you came to tell me off about my speech, you can fuck off, Max" she said, without looking at me.

I sat down next to her on the grass

"Tell you off? I wouldn't dream of it. Your speech was amazing, Chloe"

Chloe literally did a double take

"You _what_ now?" that made me chuckle a bit

"I do, I think it was necessary, even. I mean, you saw it, too. All these people who didn't move a finger to find her were dripping alligator tears all over her. It was gross"

Chloe just looked at me, and I grabbed the cigarette from her hand before she could react, and took a puff, coughing a little, which only made her surprised look grow.

"What you did was just a big fuck you to all the people who were being fake. It was so fucking cool. I bet Rachel loved it" I told her

That managed to make Chloe smile a little bit

"She did, huh?"

"She hella did" I said, before passing the cigarette back to her

* * *

Of course it wasn't everybody. There were people like Dana, and Keaton, and Hayden who really did care about Rachel and missed her a lot. But it was clear that some others, like Victoria who was making a fool of herself with fake theatrical crying, when we all know she_ hated_ Rachel, needed to be told off.

I was wrong about Chloe. Even when she was going through a horrible time, she went up there and was so strong, so brave, surprising everybody. I guess _I_ shouldn't have been surprised at all, especially after last week, she had proved time and time again how truly incredible she was. I just wished more people got to see it more often.

After Chloe dropped me off at my dorm, I checked my messages, before going to sleep.

**Chloe :** hey nerd thanks for today

**Chloe : **wanna meet tomorrow?

**Max :** Always. Where are we off to?

**Chloe :** imma tak ride. youll see

**Max : **Deal :D

* * *

**Kate: ** Thank you so much for today Max ! I'm so lucky to have you as a friend. You're amazing :')

**Max:** No, YOU are amazing :D !

* * *

**Warren : **So Brooke invited me to the drive-in today? We'll see how that goes.

**Warren: **I also searched the interwebs for time travel business

**Max: **You're the best! Talk tomorrow?

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading, peeps! Took me a while since life was being a bit crazy.

Lots of side characters made an appearance in this chapter, but the highlight was probably Rachel's funeral, I think.I know I said things would be more cheerful but I have to get a few things out of the way first (sorry)

Also, I'll stop talking about the music titles (seriously, check them out) and just link the spotify playlist lol

Thanks to everyone who has left comments and is enjoying the story so far!

Next chapter will (hopefully) be posted tomorrow, so stay tuned!


	4. Trains

**Chloe: **pick u up at 10

**Chloe:** n NO emoji!

**Max:** Can't wait!

I had unspokenly decided to skip class, at least for one more day, because I just didn't feel like going after everything that had happened. It just seemed so meaningless and forced...especially the photography class, though I guess they hadn't found a new teacher for it yet. But just thinking of going back to that classroom...Let's say I wasn't the most excited about it.

I would have to start thinking about my future again at some point, but for now, I only wanted to enjoy my time with Chloe, and the fact that she was alive and well for once.

I got to the showers, and they were empty, just like the rest of the dorm, because everyone was already at class. It was nice to have the whole dorm for myself, nice and quiet, though I couldn't deny there was a bit of eeriness to it, too. Maybe the whole time travelling business had made me a bit paranoid, but I was suddenly very aware that a scene from Psycho could happen at any moment, and I was half picturing it. I guess after dying and rewinding multiple times, watching all the people I cared about die in many different ways...life still seemed a bit fragile and unstable, and I wasn't sure if that was ever going to go away.

I was trying to pick an outfit back at my room, and it struck me that I was both anxious and giddy with excitement at the idea of meeting with Chloe. She'd been all mysterious about it, and it kind of felt like we were going on a date. Or something. It was probably dumb of me to think that but I kind of did.

Things were definitely a bit awkward for me now that I'd switched timelines, it almost felt like I was cheating on the other Chloe by getting closer to her in this universe. Not that it made any sense. And not that we'd actually been dating. But we had gotten so close over that week, close enough to even share that last kiss, which pretty much confirmed that my feelings for Chloe weren't unrequited, that it felt kind of strange to start over from scratch with her.

Maybe it was dumb of me to even expect things would go in that direction now, because after all, this was a completely different universe. Especially if I managed to never tell her about any of the alternate universe business. There's a possibility that that was a big part of us getting so close in the first place, and maybe without that factor thrown into the equation, Chloe just never developed such deep feelings for me. Or something. I don't know.

To be honest, the whole subject was just stressing me out, and thinking about it was just making it worse. Having Chloe be alive, and here with me was all I could ever ask for, and I was infinitely grateful for it. Even if our friendship never turned romantic, it would still be 100% worth it to just have her around and know that she is safe. Which, honestly, even if I didn't want to think too hard about it, wasn't a guarantee either, since I'd pretty much bypassed the universe's set rules by using the butterfly photo.

I ended up settling for my typical outfit, with my grey hoodie and a graphic tee and my regular jeans, deciding it'd be too weird to dress up even a little, and I didn't really have anything to dress up _with_ in the first place.

Sneaking out of the dorm was really easy, because no one was patrolling, but I was still careful of not running into the principal or any of the teachers. Chloe's truck was already waiting for me at the entrance, uncharacteristically early for her, which gave a stupid little jolt of joy.

"Boo!" I snuck up on her and she actually flinched, which was definitely a first, since I was very easy to scare and she was the exact opposite.

"Shit, Max" she said, looking annoyed

"Gotcha!" I said as I got in the car, before asking "So where are we going?"

"No way. What's the fun in that?" she simply told me, cryptically "You brought your camera?"

"Yeah, why?"

She simply gave me a smug smile as she started to drive, and it was irritatingly adorable.

* * *

So turns out Chloe wanted to show me the woods near the train tracks, and I noticed it was almost the exact same spot we'd been in when she had yet another brush with death, which instantly put me on edge, but I was trying not to show it.

"So what do you think?" she asked me

"Really cool, kind of liberating in a way" I said, looking to the surrounding trees, trying to find joy in the delicate situation we were in , even pausing to take a quick photo.

"I know, right?" she said with a sigh as she sat down on the tracks "But why do you keep looking over?"

I didn't think she would have noticed it, but then again, she was Chloe, and of course she had. I shook the polaroid, mostly out of habit than functionality, and put it away in my messenger bag

"Sorry, I'm just a little freaked a train is going to come and flatten us like pancakes, is all"

"Always a worrywart, Max. Chill out, there's no trains at this hour. I think. We can just move out of the way if we see any" she said, reclining on the floor, visibly not bothered, even going as far as closing her eyes.

I knew there was no way I could use the rewind power again without triggering a natural disaster, and I was starting to get really anxious, like this feeling in my gut that something terrible was about to happen. Call it anxiety or whatever you want, but I was starting to get really panicked.

"Actually, can we go? Please?" I said to her, and she opened an eye, inquisitively

"Chloe, get up" my voice was starting to sound truly panicked, and I could feel tears stinging at the back of my eyes.

She finally got up, looking concerned for me, like she didn't quite understand what was happening to me.

"Okay. What's wrong, Max?" she said putting an arm on my shoulder "You sound really freaked."

I didn't answer and simply pulled her arm towards me, leading her off the tracks and away from the oncoming train.

"If it's about the train, it's not coming, see?" She said, gesturing towards the horizon, where nothing could be seen. Her voice was gentle, like she was trying to appease me "You can calm down"

I knew she was probably right, but somehow I couldn't calm down at all. I felt tears stringing down my cheeks, and my breathing was starting to become shaky and difficult.

"Maxo...what's happening?" she said, her voice sweet and her face full of concern "Talk to me, okay?"

But I couldn't breathe, and the train was going to come closer any minute, and Chloe might stumble back on the tracks and she would die, and I couldn't let that happen, I just couldn't. I dragged away a bit farther from the tracks, my vision blurry with all the tears, breathing hard. Because what if I lost the butterfly picture? Then all of this will be over and she'll be truly gone, and there'll be nothing I can do about it. And it will all be my fucking fault for being so stupid, so dumb...

I felt Chloe wipe the tears away from my face, before hugging me, putting her arms around me gently, then bringing me closer.

"I don't know, Chloe, it's just...the train" I said, in between sobs. I was fully crying desperately at this point, and a part of me knew it was irrational and even embarrassing, but I couldn't find a way to stop.

"It's okay now. It's okay, Max" she said softly, brushing my hair with her fingers as she held me close, which was kind of starting to calm me down.

I felt so safe in her arms, so protected, and it reminded me of when I used to get nosebleeds and feel faint, and Chloe would hold me like this, supporting me, her usual snarky self turning gentle with worry.

When she saw that I was finally starting to calm down and my crying was getting a bit less extreme, she pulled away, and looked at me. On her face I saw so much affection and worry, that I was sure that all her hard exterior was just as facade, because she cared so much for me...it kind of scared me and surprised me, but also thrilled me.

Now that I was not panicking anymore, I didn't really know how to feel about my outburst. And I especially didn't know how to explain it to her without telling her about my personal Tardis.

"You okay?" she said

"Yeah, sorry about that. I get like that sometimes…" I ended up settling for, trying to stay vague enough, pretending like maybe I'd become more anxious in Seattle

She frowned, visibly not convinced, but decided to drop it.

"Don't worry about it, girl. Let's go?"

And as she said that, the ground started to shake slowly, and the sound of a train coming towards us full speed hit me, before we even saw its headlights.

The bad feeling I had came back full strength, and I saw Chloe looking at me, a question in her eyes.

But then, as soon as the train had passed us, it started to freewheel wildly, the wheels screeching with the friction, before skidding to a stop, sending dust and debris flying in in all directions. The first wagon detached from the others, landing perpendicularly to the rails in front of us with an impossibly loud bang.

Smoke started to flow out from the engine, and the smell of burnt plastic and hot metal filled the air, giving me a bad taste at the back of my mouth.

An absolute silence followed, and everything was quiet, and still, even disturbingly so. A painful ringing started going on my ears.

Everything had happened so fast yet I'd seen everything in an excruciating slow motion, every painful detail of it. We hadn't had time to get any further away from the train, but still no part of the crash had touched us, and I noticed at some point one of us had grabbed the other's hand, and we were still holding on tightly.

"_Holy shit…_" Chloe was the first to speak, and she did so in a loud voice, her hearing probably a bit impaired by the crash, like mine.

We looked at each other for a second and I felt a surge of love for her, a relief so big it was overwhelming me, seeing that she was alive and well. That she had survived another karmic fiasco unscathed.

I rushed into her arms so fast, she staggered back a bit, but soon started hugging me back.

"What just happened?" I asked her, my voice a mere whisper

"It was fucking insane, man. Like what the fuck?" she asked me, her voice a bit panicked but filled with adrenaline

"I don't know…" I trailed off

"And we're alive? Holy shit!" she started getting excited, before pulling away "We're alive, Max!"

She pulled me back into a hug and squeezed the life out of me, then backed away a second time.

"Okay, we gotta call the cops or something, right? Or maybe an ambulance." she said, rummaging through her pockets for a phone

I ran over to the engine wagon, a few feet away, and saw that the windows were crushed, black smoke coming from them. The train was only a cargo o

"There should be a driver in there. It's a cargo, so no passengers but…" said Chloe, coming up behind me, her phone pressed to her ear, dialing

She perked up, presumably because the call had gone through

"Hi, yeah, this uh, train just crashed right in front of us, it's on…" she looked over at me for help with the location

"Sheerside Woods" I said to her

"Sheerside, yeah. Uh, no, it's only the driver I think, I don't know…"

We made our way closer to one of the windows, and saw a man staggering out, difficultly.

I reached to help him out and away from the wagon, but he lost his balance and fell near the side.

"Mister? Are you alright?" I asked, shaking him, hoping he wasn't about to lose consciousness. I didn't know a lot, but I knew things got more complicated once people fainted.

The smoke was making me cough, and the man stirred a little.

"Yeah so he's alive. Doesn't look great, though. Ah.." she paused, before speaking to me "Ask him if he was alone in there, Max"

"Mister? Hello?" He started to open his eyes, he was wearing some kind of uniform and his face was black from the smoke, and he too started to cough. We both helped him sit up.

"What…" he asked, dazed, while looking around

"Hey, man, was it just you in there?" Chloe asked

"What? Yeah…" he answered, clutching his head with his head, where he had a gash that put the one I got on Monday to shame.

"Yeah, it was just him. Okay, we'll wait" Chloe put her phone in her pocket "Ambulance's coming, okay? Just hold tight" she said to the driver, who simply nodded in return

Chloe let herself fall on the grass, sighing from exhaustion, and I followed.

"Man, why does crazy shit keep happening to me?" she said, shaking her head

"I know...I'm just so happy we're alive"

"Same" she answered, before starting to cough wildly "We better move him, we can't breathe in here"

We helped the poor man up, holding him up by the shoulders as he limped away with us.

"He might have a concussion" I said, once we had gotten a few feet away and propped the driver against a tree. He seemed to be slowly coming back to his senses

"Yeah, that looks like it hurts" she said, making a face and gesturing towards the cut on his head "You okay, mister?"

"Yeah, thanks" he said in a hoarse voice

"What happened out there?" I asked him

"Train derailed." he was starting to look a little better, and well, not as knocked out "Must've been something on the tracks"

We kind of just nodded but I noticed Chloe was staring at me weirdly.

"What is it?" I said to her, but she didn't answer.

Then seconds after, we heard the ambulance siren getting closer, and in no time at all half a dozen cars, police, paramedics, and who knows what else were pulling up next to us.

The paramedics put the man on a stretcher, strapping him down, and giving him an oxygen max and even a blanket before carting him to the back of the ambulance, in such a smooth, choreographed manner that only took mere seconds, and then they drove off.

More medics whose faces I barely even registered came over to us, wrapping up metallic blankets around us and asking us a bunch of questions, and shining a pen light over my eyes, before telling us to head to the hospital if we show any signs of a concussion, and some other stuff I zoned out for.

"We can call your parents if you want" one of the medic guys said to us after a while, and Chloe shook her head.

"Nah, it's fine. We drove here" she took off her blanket and just gave it to the guy, and I numbly did the same

"We can tow it. Or someone can drive it up for you" he suggested

"No thanks" she firmly said to him, grabbing my hand and walking away to where the truck was

I think we normally would have to talk to the police in these kinds of situations, but we'd slipped away pretty fast, and we were probably allowed to be shocked for a bit. And honestly, I doubted Chloe even cared.

We got in silently.

"What's up? You okay?" I asked Chloe when she didn't start the car, her gaze fixed on the road in front of us

"You...you knew it was going to happen. When you freaked out before"

I guess there's no way I can get away with the secret now.

"This is going to sound crazy, but…" I started, and Chloe looked over at me, encouraging me to go on

"I...don't even know where to start. I guess by the beginning."

"You're like some kind of psychic?" she probed

"No. Well, kind of." I sighed, frustrated "Remember the other day with Nathan? In the girl's bathroom?"

She nodded, her expression growing darker when I mentioned him.

"Well, I saw you. Die, I mean. You were dead, just,bleeding out on the tile floor" I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts

"He _shot_ me? That bastard had the fucking nerve to shoot me?" her voice was raising to a shout

"He did. But listen, okay? That wasn't the first time I saw you die"

Silence reigned over the car for a few seconds, as Chloe processed what I was telling her

"What...You mean you saved me before?"

"Yeah. I have some kind of time travel powers. And, here's where it gets crazy" I paused "I've been going back and forth for over a week, trying to change and fix things. Only to mess them up even more, actually"

"Holy shit, Max...are you for real? You've been, what, saving my ass over and over again for _a week?_"

Somehow, in this crazy situation, that made me laugh

"Pretty much, yeah. It's crazy the amount of trouble that happens around you"

"Fuck...I mean, that must've been...it must've been...I can't even imagine what that was like" She said, grasping my hand

"It's so worth it, believe me" I answered her

"You're fucking amazing, Max. I thought I owed you, but now? I don't ever think I'm ever gonna be able to pay that back"

She looked so earnest when she said that.

"Okay, want to know the truth? I didn't do it for you, Chloe. I couldn't stand to see you like that, it was horrible..." I paused "So you don't owe me, silly"

I tried giving her a playful nudge with my shoulder, but she still seemed shocked by the information. And honestly, I felt pretty good after telling her the truth, and going another day with Chloe's life unscathed.

"With this, I don't only have the most massive debt any human can have, we're also bonded for life" she said, squeezing my hand "There's no way you're getting rid of me now, Supergirl"

"Of course not" I answered, squeezing her hand back

She started the car and started to drive off, and we were still holding hands, the hand that wasn't on the wheel busy tracing circles on the back of my hand.

"So you're basically like the teenage Doctor?" she asked me, when we were on the road, making me chuckle lightly

"I guess. Though I can't use my powers anymore"

"And why is that?"

"Uh, well...I kinda created a tear in the fabric of time and space from using them so much, and it caused a natural disaster to wipe out half of Arcadia Bay. No biggie, you know"

"You _what?_ Are you for real right now?"

"Yeah" I made a face

"Damn...That's insane. And what did you do then?"

"I used my pictures to navigate back in time. And I used the butterfly one to go back to Monday, and the rest, you know"

"Holy...So the rest of the town is basically dead in another timeline? Serves them right"

"Chloe!" I exclaimed, a bit unsettled "I guess I hadn't thought about that..."

"Then don't. Most people here are assholes anyway, nothing to feel bad about" she said, giving another one of those dry chuckles

She finally let go of my hand and reached for her cigarettes. We had reached the diner, and what with all our driving back and forth and accident shenanigans, it was almost 3pm.

"You hungry?" Chloe said, and I nodded "Mom's working the afternoon shift"

* * *

When we got into the diner, which wasn't super busy at this time of the day, we saw a news story flashing on the TV, with the video of a reporter standing in front of the local police station, a microphone in hand, as she narrated :

"...suspects have been charged with the murder of the young girl, and are now in custody, awaiting a trial. More details on the Amber case on our next program…"

An image of Rachel, the same one shown at her memorial yesterday flashed on the screen, before the news station resumed their talk, moving onto another story.

Chloe simply stared at the screen while the story went on, and then silently walked over to our usual booth at the corner of the diner.

"Max, so, why didn't you tell me about your superpowers?" she said once we were seated, waiting to order, looking through the menu for the hell of it, when I knew she could probably recite it with her eyes closed, at this point.

"I guess I was worried I wouldn't be able to prove it to you. Since they're basically gone now"

"And how did you prove it to, uh, the other me?" she scratched the back of her head, probably trying to wrap her head around the whole thing.

"It's funny actually, we were at the diner. And I told you everything that was in your pockets, and predicted the events for like, the next five minutes." I gave a little laugh "You were definitely impressed"

"Hah, was I wooed by your super skills? Sounds like me" she said, with a chuckle

I didn't really know how to answer, since she was low-key flirting with me again, and I knew it wasn't actually serious.

"So how was the trip, girls? Hope you didn't let Chloe trick you into mischief, Max" said Joyce, appearing from behind the counter and walking towards our booth. Chloe and gave each other a look, and she added "Don't think I didn't see that, either"

That kind of made me laugh. Joyce never missed a thing, especially when it came to me and Chloe.

"Of course not. It was nice, we just uh, walked around and stuff" I added, and it didn't sound very convincing

"Nice, huh? You girls stay out of trouble, okay? There's enough of that going around as it is" she said in a more serious tone

"How could you think that of me, madre? We're practically angels, me and Max" Chloe gestured towards us, in mock innocence, lightening the mood

That managed to make her smile.

"Yeah, right" she said, not waiting for our answer "So what's it going to be? The usual?"

* * *

"Tell me we used your rewind thing to fuck with the town, and like, rob banks or something" Chloe said when we were eating

"Well, kind of? We did break into Blackwell, looked through the principal's files...Oh, yeah and we went skinny dipping in the pool" that made me smile

"Are you fucking serious? Damn..." she paused to eat a mouthful of bacon

"Yeah and we almost got caught by the police and had to speed away in your cool truck"

We had ordered the breakfast menu, even though it was almost 5pm, so Chloe was devouring her usual bacon and eggs, and I was busy enjoying some fluffy Belgian waffles.

"Holy shit girl, then what are we waiting for? Let's go bust this place up!"

"Uh, hello? Normal human here" I pointed at myself "Unless your lock-picking skills are any better in this timeline, that's never going to work"

"Hey, how do you know about..? Shit, what else do you know?"

"Hah, you _would_ like to know, wouldn't you?" I teased her, and she just narrowed her eyes a bit, but recovered quickly, too excited with the possibilities.

"So why stop there? Let's rob the fucking bank, Mad Max. Buy a fucking island and live there"

"O-kay" I said, not knowing what to answer to that, stopping to take a drink of hot chocolate out of my mug

"So were you like, bitten by a time spider or something?"

"Yeah, sure, Chloe, that's what happened" I said, rolling my eyes, but there was a hint of a smile in my voice.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading, everyone!

I'm back with another Pricefield-filled chapter, and the trainwreck scene I wasn't sure I'd add in or not. It's not perfect and I might go back and edit it, but at least now Chloe knows about Max's superpowers.

Signs are showing that Max was a bit more affected by the first week's events that she let on, with her breakdown at the train tracks, but luckily Chloe was there to comfort her lol

Will be posting again soon! So stay tuned folks :)


	5. Calm Before the Storm

**Chloe: ** thx for savin me again time bender

**Chloe: **miss u in bed last nite. stay over more

**Chloe: **n we have plans 2day gurl

It was Friday morning today. _Storm day._

I hadn't told Chloe much about it, partly because I didn't want to freak her out, and partly because I wasn't very reassured myself. This universe was so sweet, so perfect...I couldn't bear to let go of it and start again.

I guess I had ended up skipping school for the whole week, and I wasn't too mad about it. If we survived today, I was definitely coming back to class and getting my life together, but there was no way of knowing what was going to happen.

**Max:** Movie day at your house? Some things we have to talk about

**Chloe: ** y so serious gurl? pickin u up in 30. dont b l8

The plan was to stay next to Chloe's side for the whole day. I got ready like usual, and it only took me about fifteen minutes, so I still had some time to spare. I used it by taking all the photographs I'd taken over the week out of my satchel and looking through them. There was the one of the pine trees I'd taken in the woods near the rails, before I'd freaked out, and there was also one I'd offhandedly taken of Chloe when we were sitting in her truck, and then of course, there was the butterfly photo.

And I just wished I wouldn't have to use it.

* * *

Chloe was waiting in her car, blasting out punk music when I got there, early once again. She used to always show up late every time we made plans when we were younger, but I guess now she'd made a habit of showing up on time, which I was very impressed by, and thought was kind of adorable.

"It's so sweet how you show up on time now" I told her as I got into the passenger's seat

"Oh, whatever. Anything for my saviour, I guess" she said, turning down the volume of her stereo just a bit "So what's got you so mysterious? Got a new superpower overnight or somethin'?"

Chloe started to drive towards her house, not waiting for my answer, but I instantly tensed up a bit. I kind of just wanted to pretend the looming threat of a tornado wiping us off the face of the earth wasn't there and forget about the whole thing. But I guess I _had_ been the one to text her that we needed to talk.

"Not really. It's nothing. Honest. I'll explain at your house" I ended up saying to her, before the silence between us grew too big.

She gave me a quizzical look before answering "Alright, girl" and continued to drive

* * *

In her house, Chloe closed the front door behind us with a shove, before throwing her keys on the little table beside it and heading for the kitchen. No one was home, of course, David was busy working at Blackwell and Joyce at the diner.

"Want anything?" she asked me from the kitchen

"Yeah, uh, you have cereal?" I said, already knowing that she did, as I looked around the living room.

On the dining table, I saw a newspaper laid discarded near the edge, that someone presumably had been reading earlier in the morning, on the front page a very familiar story about a derailed train near Sheerside woods, with a blurry picture of the aftermath.

We both brought a bowl of the same cereal we'd eat when we were kids, the box still nostalgic to me, to her room.

"I kinda love your room" I said to her, as we sat on her bed, or spread out on it rather, for Chloe, and munched on the cereal. I looked around and saw the cool posters, the edgy graffiti on the walls, the unmade bed...

"You do?" she casually asked between bites

"It's so you"

"Oh, you mean, all messy and jaded?" she asked me with a chuckle, even though she probably knew that's not what I had meant

"No. I mean it's beautiful. You know…" I stopped myself, suddenly embarrassed after realising what I said, and felt a blush starting to spread over my cheeks

Chloe gave a nice, hearty laugh. "Geez, Max, didn't know you were such a flirt" she said

I froze a little bit "What..No" I stuttered, shooting her a panicked look

"Okay, okay. So what was it you wanted to tell me?" Chloe said with a smile, taking me out of my misery, for which I was grateful. But I didn't feel like ruining the mood with thoughts of a catastrophe looming over us.

"About that…" my voice came out all hesitant and I hated it.

"Whatever, you can just tell me later." she got up and grabbed her laptop from her desk, bringing it to the bed "What you in the mood for?"

"Uh, I don't know" I simply answered. Chloe was being so understanding and light-hearted with me...

"O-kay" she said, stretching the word "What about Inception? Since you like, travelled through dimensions and stuff. Or Ghost in the Shell?"

Chloe opened her laptop and started looking online for movies to watch. I made a face.

"Actually, I kind of wanted to take a break from all that"

"Got it. So what about we just rewatch the L Word?" she said, wiggling her eyebrows and looking at me for a reaction, clearly teasing me again

Technically, Blue is the Warmest Color would be more appropriate, considering Chloe's resemblance to the blue haired, punky love interest, but I wasn't about to tell that to her.

"That's a no, then" she said when I didn't answer, rolling her eyes, and it made me laugh

"Have you watched Scott Pilgrim? I think you'd really like it" I told her, chuckling

"Cool, let's do that" she said, typing the words into the search engine, and I settled next to her on the bed, getting comfortable

* * *

"Damn...That guy Wallace should be the main character, he's like way cooler than everyone else" Chloe said, pausing the movie credits before exiting the full-screen and closing her laptop.

"Yeah, he is pretty cool. Though Ramona's my fave, she really reminds me of you" I said

"So Max over here has a crush on Mary-Elizabeth, huh?" she gave me a nudge "Not that I can blame you, I mean, she's smokin' hot"

I just laughed at her

"So you're finally going to spill the beans?" Chloe asked me after a few seconds

"Yep. But this is like...a big deal, okay?" I said, ready to break the news to her.

"Sure. Hit me with it, Max"

"So remember that thing I told you about ripping a hole in the fabric of time and space and all that?"

"Yeah that stuff with the tornado right? Chaos and destruction and all that" she said dismissively, like it wasn't that big of a deal. You have no idea, Chloe...

"Well, that happened last Friday..." I said slowly, waiting for her to catch on "Friday, you get it?"

"You think it's still gonna happen? Like right now?"

"I don't know. I really don't" I said "I just really, really hope it doesn't"

"So that's why you've been all twitchy and shit all day? Chill out, Max, we're gonna be fine. You said it was all the time travelling that caused it, and you haven't used your powers once here." she asked me, giving me a light punch on the shoulder

"No. But…" I started

"No buts." she interrupted me "And don't think I forgot about our badass plans, Max"

Oh right, the plans to rob a bank and run off to a private island? Or the ones to break into the school? I guess, with her, both were equally as likely.

"I don't think I ever actually agreed to any of those plans" I simply said to her, knowing I'd probably end up agreeing anyway.

Chloe ignored me and continued "Even without your powers, we can still figure somethin' out. What did we do last time?"

"I guess I shouldn't encourage you...but you uh, borrowed David's keys, and that got us as far as the principal's door"

"Damn...Is it too fucked up that I'm kinda jealous of, like, the other me? I mean she had a full week of criminal bonding with you"

"Yeah, I guess we were pretty good partners in crime" I said with a rueful smile

"Shit, we could be like Bonnie and Clyde" Chloe put an arm around my shoulder "I'd be Clyde, of course"

"Yeah, I guess…" that made me chuckle, and her closeness made me instantly nervous and flustered. I would never say that to her but she also smelled pretty good, even the familiar scent of her cigarettes was comforting for some reason. For a second I was reminded of the dare the other Chloe told me to do, and her reaction. I wondered if this Chloe thought about me that way, or if she didn't at all, and whether she'd ever ask me something like that...

"So let's do it girl!" Chloe exclaimed, giving me a side squeeze and snapping me out of my daydream.

"Let's do what? Break in? Like, right now?"

"Yup, gotta wait for my step-douche to come home so I can swipe his keys, though"

"Man, are you cereal? What are we going to do when they bust us like last time?"

"Chill Mad Max, we won't get busted" she said, winking at me

"Chloe, did you forget what I just told you? Tornado? Impending doom, anything?" I said, exasperated

"If the world is really gonna end, Max, then we better spend our last hours breaking into the school together"

"Maybe you're right" I said after a pause, agreeing to her plans. I guess that's just the kind of power Chloe Price had over me.

And honestly? I wasn't even that bothered by it. And I was also very aware of the way her arm still lingered over my shoulder.

* * *

The sun was going down in Chloe's room and we hadn't bothered to turn on any lights, so we were both bathed in the dim twilight that slipped in from outside as we chatted. Then the front door closed with a small bang.

"The step is here. Come on, let's go Maxo" she said, putting out her cigarette before getting up.

"Chloe? I told you not to bring people over." David said as soon as he saw us at the top of the stairs, his tone irritated.

"Ugh" I didn't have to look at Chloe to know she was rolling her eyes at him "Can you not? And then you wonder why we don't get along"

David was looking at her with a look of poorly concealed, ever growing anger, and I could already picture him yelling like last time.

"Sorry, I should have asked if I could come over. I'm Max, I go to Blackwell" I said, trying to diffuse the tension, thinking back to his security room and all his concealed cameras. Maybe he did have good intentions, but the man was clearly not in his right mind, if what happened the time he caught me in Chloe's room in the other timeline was anything to go by.

"Anyway, we're going out. Don't wait up" Chloe said to him, after he just ignored my greeting, clearly pissed

"Do whatever you want." he said dismissively before adding "Just watch out for the weirdos out there"

While I did understand his point and there was definitely some freaky stuff happening in the town, he was starting to piss me off. Also, the opportunity was just too good to pass up.

"We _are_ the weirdos, mister" I said to him in the most innocent voice I could manage

Chloe actually snorted. David just looked confused, clearly not understanding the reference.

* * *

Soon after, Chloe and I were closing the front door behind us. She proudly held up the stolen keys for me to see.

"Well done." I said to her "But did I ever tell you you're right about your stepdad? He really sucks"

"Damn straight he does" Chloe simply answered "I'm counting the days till Joyce dumps his sorry ass. That was cool, what you did there, Max. Besides, The Craft rocks."

So true, Chloe, so true. She and I were simply walking to Blackwell, truck-less like the common man, to avoid leaving any kind of skidmark and make a smooth getaway this time without incriminating ourselves.

"I can't believe we're doing this again" I said to Chloe, who'd been uncharacteristically silent the whole way

"Hah, hell yeah we're doing it, Max. Those assholes over at your school got some bad karma we need to take care of" she said with a devilish smile, and I couldn't help but find it kind of cute.

"Oh, so we're like the Harbingers of Karma? Plus, they're not all evil, and you know it." I said to her

"Uh, I guess I do. But still, after all the crazy shit you and I have been through, we deserve a bit of a break, right?" her tone was lighthearted, and as we walked on the dark, empty streets she seemed the most free and maybe, happy I've seen her in a while. On that fact alone, this was already totally worth it, even if we got caught.

"It's funny how I'll be going to Blackwell for the first time this week, and it's to break in with you" I guess I did feel a little guilty about skipping class so much. But only a little.

"Oh, yeah, true, sista. Damn, I'm such a great bad influence on you" she said with a chuckle, before adding "I kinda love it"

"You know what? Me too" I said, and for a second we just looked at each other, and this secret understanding passed between us.

It occurred to me that Chloe was probably the only person I would do these crazy antics with. She was literally the only one who could ever convince me to do stuff like this.

"Okay, boss. So tell me what we need to do" she said after a bit, once we'd finally reached the entrance

"Right. So we gotta slip in through here" I started, getting progressively giddy and anxious about our night getaway "Then open sesame, and we're in."

"Okay, you watch out for anyone coming" she said, taking the key out her jean pocket "You ready?"

I simply nodded as I looked around and the front park, usually full of students talking and hanging out, was as deserted as it could be.

Then Chloe entered the key, turning it, and unlocking the door.

* * *

"I like being all sneaky with you" I said to her, once we'd closed the door behind us, the dark, deserted hallway of the school looming in front of us. I was starting to feel excitement at the thought of us breaking in here together, and I could tell Chloe was enjoying it, too.

"I'm totally corrupting you. First the cigs, now this...Next time we hang out I'll get you to smoke weed, and before you know it we're stealing cars and selling drugs" Chloe said with a chuckle

"You wish" I said to her, giving her a shove, to which she just laughed

"So now what, captain? We breaking into any principal's offices tonight?" Chloe asked, and I shook my head in response.

While there was something eerie about the school, in the same way as an empty shopping mall at night, or any place that's typically filled with people, there was also something kind of freeing about it. But there was no point in breaking in there tonight, no clues to gather, no secrets to unveil. Everything was already out in the open.

"Want to see the pool?" I said, already starting to walk towards it, remembering exactly what happened there in the other world

"Hell yeah" Chloe said excitedly, joining me

"So, which one? Girls or boys?" Chloe said once we'd reached the locker rooms, a meaningful look on her face. I couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't asking me about something else entirely...And I guess, knowing Chloe, it was quite possible that she was.

"Girls, of course" I said to her, admittedly a little smugly, deciding two could play at this game and feeling momentarily brave. I was pleased to see she seemed slightly surprised at my answer.

"Cool. I thought you'd be all over Warren's locker, or something" Chloe said, and I couldn't help but think she sounded relieved. But then again, it might just be wishful thinking.

"Warren, who?" I said innocently. Warren was nice, but Chloe was were it was really at. If only she knew...

"Huh. Alright, girl" Chloe gave a little laugh, and we went on walking in silence.

* * *

The pool of Blackwell was dimly lit, and me and Chloe just stood there looking at the calm surface of the water for a second. Everything was so still and silent, and being with Chloe was as comforting as always, I'd almost forgotten what day it was today. What kind day it was supposed to be.

A splash of cold water struck me, snapping me out of my thoughts. Without any kind of warning, Chloe had dived straight into the the pool, doing a cannonball. I saw her clothes laid now discarded near the edge to my right.

"Woah, it's cold" she said as soon as she resurfaced, brushing her wet hair back, away from her face. The chlorine water looked as blue as her hair, with paler blue spots where the ripples and waves caught the light.

"Come on, Max, what are you waiting for?" She threw water at me as she said that, a challenging look on her face, and I realised that after her cannonball, my clothes were already pretty much soaked

"Let me guess, you dare me to jump in with you" I said to her, remembering the last time she'd done just that

"It's creepy how well you know me" she said, but she was grinning at me, and I couldn't help but smile back.

I took off my shirt and jeans, throwing them on the floor next to hers, ignoring the embarrassment of being half naked in front of Chloe, who was looking intently at me. Suddenly I wished I'd worn cuter underwear.

The cold water hit me like a slap in the face as I jumped into the pool.

* * *

**A/N:** Hiya hiya everybody. Thanks for reading!

I went to the beach and took a massive break from all my stories, vacation, blah blah, you get it.

As you can tell I'm not particularly fond of Jocelyn's husband, in fact I find him downright abusive. That scene in Chloe's room, anyone? Even if he wanted to protect her or whatever, that's no excuse. Besides, I know it's illegal and etc, but what's some weed going to really do to her? Total overkill.

Looking forward to posting more chapters, along with the new The Mortal Instruments fic I'm working on!


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